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Am. H. B. No. 480 As Passed by the HouseAs Passed by the House
130th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2013-2014 |
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Cosponsors:
Representatives Hackett, Butler, Celebrezze, Barborak, Brown, Buchy, Carney, Clyde, Perales, Phillips, Stinziano
A BILL
To amend sections 4511.093, 4511.81, and 4513.263 of
the Revised Code to restrict to cases of negligent
vehicular homicide a provision of law that
declares that the failure of an operator of a
motor vehicle to secure a child in a car seat, in
a booster seat, or with a seat belt is
inadmissible as evidence in certain criminal
actions and to allow the enforcement of child car
seat, booster seat, and seat belt requirements as
a primary offense if the child is less than eight
years of age.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 4511.093, 4511.81, and 4513.263 of
the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 4511.093. (A)(1) No law enforcement officer who stops
the operator of a motor vehicle in the course of an authorized
sobriety or other motor vehicle checkpoint operation or a motor
vehicle safety inspection shall issue a ticket, citation, or
summons for a secondary traffic offense unless in the course of
the checkpoint operation or safety inspection the officer first
determines that an offense other than a secondary traffic offense
has occurred and either places the operator or a vehicle occupant
under arrest or issues a ticket, citation, or summons to the
operator or a vehicle occupant for an offense other than a
secondary offense.
(2) A law enforcement agency that operates a motor vehicle
checkpoint for an express purpose related to a secondary traffic
offense shall not issue a ticket, citation, or summons for any
secondary traffic offense at such a checkpoint, but may use such a
checkpoint operation to conduct a public awareness campaign and
distribute information.
(B) As used in this section, "secondary traffic offense"
means a violation of division (A) or (F)(2) of section 4507.05,
division (B)(1)(a) or (b) or (E) of section 4507.071, division (A)
of section 4511.204, division (C) or (D) of section 4511.81,
division (A)(3) of section 4513.03, or division (B) of section
4513.263 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4511.81. (A) When any child who is in either or both of
the following categories is being transported in a motor vehicle,
other than a taxicab or public safety vehicle as defined in
section 4511.01 of the Revised Code, that is required by the
United States department of transportation to be equipped with
seat belts at the time of manufacture or assembly, the operator of
the motor vehicle shall have the child properly secured in
accordance with the manufacturer's instructions in a child
restraint system that meets federal motor vehicle safety
standards:
(1) A child who is less than four years of age;
(2) A child who weighs less than forty pounds.
(B) When any child who is in either or both of the following
categories is being transported in a motor vehicle, other than a
taxicab, that is owned, leased, or otherwise under the control of
a nursery school or day-care center, the operator of the motor
vehicle shall have the child properly secured in accordance with
the manufacturer's instructions in a child restraint system that
meets federal motor vehicle safety standards:
(1) A child who is less than four years of age;
(2) A child who weighs less than forty pounds.
(C) When any child who is less than eight years of age and
less than four feet nine inches in height, who is not required by
division (A) or (B) of this section to be secured in a child
restraint system, is being transported in a motor vehicle, other
than a taxicab or public safety vehicle as defined in section
4511.01 of the Revised Code or a vehicle that is regulated under
section 5104.015 of the Revised Code, that is required by the
United States department of transportation to be equipped with
seat belts at the time of manufacture or assembly, the operator of
the motor vehicle shall have the child properly secured in
accordance with the manufacturer's instructions on a booster seat
that meets federal motor vehicle safety standards.
(D) When any child who is at least eight years of age but not
older than fifteen years of age, and who is not otherwise required
by division (A), (B), or (C) of this section to be secured in a
child restraint system or booster seat, is being transported in a
motor vehicle, other than a taxicab or public safety vehicle as
defined in section 4511.01 of the Revised Code, that is required
by the United States department of transportation to be equipped
with seat belts at the time of manufacture or assembly, the
operator of the motor vehicle shall have the child properly
restrained either in accordance with the manufacturer's
instructions in a child restraint system that meets federal motor
vehicle safety standards or in an occupant restraining device as
defined in section 4513.263 of the Revised Code.
(E) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no
law enforcement officer shall cause an operator of a motor vehicle
being operated on any street or highway to stop the motor vehicle
for the sole purpose of determining whether a violation of
division (C) or (D) of this section has been or is being committed
or for the sole purpose of issuing a ticket, citation, or summons
for a violation of division (C) or (D) of this section or causing
the arrest of or commencing a prosecution of a person for a
violation of division (C) or (D) of this section, and absent
another violation of law, a law enforcement officer's view of the
interior or visual inspection of a motor vehicle being operated on
any street or highway may not be used for the purpose of
determining whether a violation of division (C) or (D) of this
section has been or is being committed.
(F) The director of public safety shall adopt such rules as
are necessary to carry out this section.
(G) The failure of an operator of a motor vehicle to secure a
child in a child restraint system, a booster seat, or an occupant
restraining device as required by this section is not negligence
imputable to the child, is not admissible as evidence in any civil
action involving the rights of the child against any other person
allegedly liable for injuries to the child, is not to be used as a
basis for a criminal prosecution of the operator of the motor
vehicle other than a prosecution for a violation of this
division (A)(3)(a) of section
2903.06 of the Revised Code, and is
not admissible as evidence in
any a criminal action involving the
operator of the motor vehicle
other than a prosecution for a
violation of this division (A)(3)(a) of section 2903.06 of the
Revised Code.
(H) This section does not apply when an emergency exists that
threatens the life of any person operating or occupying a motor
vehicle that is being used to transport a child who otherwise
would be required to be restrained under this section. This
section does not apply to a person operating a motor vehicle who
has an affidavit signed by a physician licensed to practice in
this state under Chapter 4731. of the Revised Code or a
chiropractor licensed to practice in this state under Chapter
4734. of the Revised Code that states that the child who otherwise
would be required to be restrained under this section has a
physical impairment that makes use of a child restraint system,
booster seat, or an occupant restraining device impossible or
impractical, provided that the person operating the vehicle has
safely and appropriately restrained the child in accordance with
any recommendations of the physician or chiropractor as noted on
the affidavit.
(I) There is hereby created in the state treasury the child
highway safety fund, consisting of fines imposed pursuant to
division (K)(1) of this section for violations of divisions (A),
(B), (C), and (D) of this section. The money in the fund shall be
used by the department of health only to defray the cost of
designating hospitals as pediatric trauma centers under section
3727.081 of the Revised Code and to establish and administer a
child highway safety program. The purpose of the program shall be
to educate the public about child restraint systems and booster
seats and the importance of their proper use. The program also
shall include a process for providing child restraint systems and
booster seats to persons who meet the eligibility criteria
established by the department, and a toll-free telephone number
the public may utilize to obtain information about child restraint
systems and booster seats, and their proper use.
(J) The director of health, in accordance with Chapter 119.
of the Revised Code, shall adopt any rules necessary to carry out
this section, including rules establishing the criteria a person
must meet in order to receive a child restraint system or booster
seat under the department's child highway safety program; provided
that rules relating to the verification of pediatric trauma
centers shall not be adopted under this section.
(K) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require any
person to carry with the person the birth certificate of a child
to prove the age of the child, but the production of a valid birth
certificate for a child showing that the child was not of an age
to which this section applies is a defense against any ticket,
citation, or summons issued for violating this section.
(L)(1) Whoever violates division (A), (B), (C), or (D) of
this section shall be punished as follows, provided that the
failure of an operator of a motor vehicle to secure more than one
child in a child restraint system, booster seat, or occupant
restraining device as required by this section that occurred at
the same time, on the same day, and at the same location is deemed
to be a single violation of this section:
(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (L)(1)(b) of
this section, the offender is guilty of a minor misdemeanor and
shall be fined not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than
seventy-five dollars.
(b) If the offender previously has been convicted of or
pleaded guilty to a violation of division (A), (B), (C), or (D) of
this section or of a municipal ordinance that is substantially
similar to any of those divisions, the offender is guilty of a
misdemeanor of the fourth degree.
(2) All fines imposed pursuant to division (L)(1) of this
section shall be forwarded to the treasurer of state for deposit
in the child highway safety fund created by division (I) of this
section.
Sec. 4513.263. (A) As used in this section and in section
4513.99 of the Revised Code:
(1) "Automobile" means any commercial tractor, passenger car,
commercial car, or truck that is required to be factory-equipped
with an occupant restraining device for the operator or any
passenger by regulations adopted by the United States secretary of
transportation pursuant to the "National Traffic and Motor Vehicle
Safety Act of 1966," 80 Stat. 719, 15 U.S.C.A. 1392.
(2) "Occupant restraining device" means a seat safety belt,
shoulder belt, harness, or other safety device for restraining a
person who is an operator of or passenger in an automobile and
that satisfies the minimum federal vehicle safety standards
established by the United States department of transportation.
(3) "Passenger" means any person in an automobile, other than
its operator, who is occupying a seating position for which an
occupant restraining device is provided.
(4) "Commercial tractor," "passenger car," and "commercial
car" have the same meanings as in section 4501.01 of the Revised
Code.
(5) "Vehicle" and "motor vehicle," as used in the definitions
of the terms set forth in division (A)(4) of this section, have
the same meanings as in section 4511.01 of the Revised Code.
(6) "Tort action" means a civil action for damages for
injury, death, or loss to person or property. "Tort action"
includes a product liability claim, as defined in section 2307.71
of the Revised Code, and an asbestos claim, as defined in section
2307.91 of the Revised Code, but does not include a civil action
for damages for breach of contract or another agreement between
persons.
(B) No person shall do any of the following:
(1) Operate an automobile on any street or highway unless
that person is wearing all of the available elements of a properly
adjusted occupant restraining device, or operate a school bus that
has an occupant restraining device installed for use in its
operator's seat unless that person is wearing all of the available
elements of the device, as properly adjusted;
(2) Operate an automobile on any street or highway unless
each passenger in the automobile who is subject to the requirement
set forth in division (B)(3) of this section is wearing all of the
available elements of a properly adjusted occupant restraining
device;
(3) Occupy, as a passenger, a seating position on the front
seat of an automobile being operated on any street or highway
unless that person is wearing all of the available elements of a
properly adjusted occupant restraining device;
(4) Operate a taxicab on any street or highway unless all
factory-equipped occupant restraining devices in the taxicab are
maintained in usable form.
(C) Division (B)(3) of this section does not apply to a
person who is required by section 4511.81 of the Revised Code to
be secured in a child restraint device or booster seat. Division
(B)(1) of this section does not apply to a person who is an
employee of the United States postal service or of a newspaper
home delivery service, during any period in which the person is
engaged in the operation of an automobile to deliver mail or
newspapers to addressees. Divisions (B)(1) and (3) of this section
do not apply to a person who has an affidavit signed by a
physician licensed to practice in this state under Chapter 4731.
of the Revised Code or a chiropractor licensed to practice in this
state under Chapter 4734. of the Revised Code that states that the
person has a physical impairment that makes use of an occupant
restraining device impossible or impractical.
(D) Notwithstanding (1) Except as provided in division (D)(2)
of this section and notwithstanding any provision of law to the
contrary, no law enforcement officer shall cause an operator of an
automobile being operated on any street or highway to stop the
automobile for the sole purpose of determining whether a violation
of division (B) of this section has been or is being committed or
for the sole purpose of issuing a ticket, citation, or summons for
a violation of that nature or causing the arrest of or commencing
a prosecution of a person for a violation of that nature, and no
law enforcement officer shall view the interior or visually
inspect any automobile being operated on any street or highway for
the sole purpose of determining whether a violation of that nature
has been or is being committed.
(2) Division (D)(1) of this section does not apply to a law
enforcement officer who is enforcing division (A), (B), or (C) of
section 4511.81 of the Revised Code.
(E) All fines collected for violations of division (B) of
this section, or for violations of any ordinance or resolution of
a political subdivision that is substantively comparable to that
division, shall be forwarded to the treasurer of state for deposit
into the state treasury to the credit of the trauma and emergency
medical services fund, which is hereby created. In addition, sixty
cents of each fee collected under sections 4501.34, 4503.26,
4505.14, 4506.08, 4509.05, and 4519.63 of the Revised Code as
specified in those sections, plus the portion of the driver's
license reinstatement fee described in division (F)(2)(g) of
section 4511.191 of the Revised Code, plus all fees collected
under section 4765.11 of the Revised Code, plus all fines imposed
under section 4765.55 of the Revised Code, plus the fees and other
moneys specified in section 4766.05 of the Revised Code, and plus
five per cent of fines and moneys arising from bail forfeitures as
directed by section 5503.04 of the Revised Code, also shall be
deposited into the trauma and emergency medical services fund. All
money deposited into the trauma and emergency medical services
fund shall be used by the department of public safety for the
administration and operation of the division of emergency medical
services and the state board of emergency medical, fire, and
transportation services, and by the state board of emergency
medical, fire, and transportation services to make grants, in
accordance with section 4765.07 of the Revised Code and rules the
board adopts under section 4765.11 of the Revised Code. The
director of budget and management may transfer excess money from
the trauma and emergency medical services fund to the state
highway safety fund if the director of public safety determines
that the amount of money in the trauma and emergency medical
services fund exceeds the amount required to cover such costs
incurred by the emergency medical services agency and the grants
made by the state board of emergency medical, fire, and
transportation services and requests the director of budget and
management to make the transfer.
(F)(1) Subject to division (F)(2) of this section, the
failure of a person to wear all of the available elements of a
properly adjusted occupant restraining device in violation of
division (B)(1) or (3) of this section or the failure of a person
to ensure that each minor who is a passenger of an automobile
being operated by that person is wearing all of the available
elements of a properly adjusted occupant restraining device in
violation of division (B)(2) of this section shall not be
considered or used by the trier of fact in a tort action as
evidence of negligence or contributory negligence. But, the trier
of fact may determine based on evidence admitted consistent with
the Ohio Rules of Evidence that the failure contributed to the
harm alleged in the tort action and may diminish a recovery of
compensatory damages that represents noneconomic loss, as defined
in section 2307.011 of the Revised Code, in a tort action that
could have been recovered but for the plaintiff's failure to wear
all of the available elements of a properly adjusted occupant
restraining device. Evidence of that failure shall not be used as
a basis for a criminal prosecution of the person other than a
prosecution for a violation of this section; and shall not be
admissible as evidence in a criminal action involving the person
other than a prosecution for a violation of this section.
(2) If, at the time of an accident involving a passenger car
equipped with occupant restraining devices, any occupant of the
passenger car who sustained injury or death was not wearing an
available occupant restraining device, was not wearing all of the
available elements of such a device, or was not wearing such a
device as properly adjusted, then, consistent with the Rules of
Evidence, the fact that the occupant was not wearing the available
occupant restraining device, was not wearing all of the available
elements of such a device, or was not wearing such a device as
properly adjusted is admissible in evidence in relation to any
claim for relief in a tort action to the extent that the claim for
relief satisfies all of the following:
(a) It seeks to recover damages for injury or death to the
occupant.
(b) The defendant in question is the manufacturer, designer,
distributor, or seller of the passenger car.
(c) The claim for relief against the defendant in question is
that the injury or death sustained by the occupant was enhanced or
aggravated by some design defect in the passenger car or that the
passenger car was not crashworthy.
(G)(1) Whoever violates division (B)(1) of this section shall
be fined thirty dollars.
(2) Whoever violates division (B)(3) of this section shall be
fined twenty dollars.
(3) Except as otherwise provided in this division, whoever
violates division (B)(4) of this section is guilty of a minor
misdemeanor. If the offender previously has been convicted of or
pleaded guilty to a violation of division (B)(4) of this section,
whoever violates division (B)(4) of this section is guilty of a
misdemeanor of the third degree.
Section 2. That existing sections 4511.093, 4511.81, and
4513.263 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
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